This weekend we, along with my parents, are going up north to visit my sister. She is moving in with her boyfriend, who lives near Aberdeen in Scotland. I've never actually been to Aberdeen I don't think! Cos I live in Central Scotland, it is pretty far north (although only 150 miles or so LOL) and we will be driving up, so will be seeing lots of lovely scenary. Except that it's pouring & misty, so might not actually be able to see much LOL. I think their new house is near the sea, so we'll prolly day a wee walk to the beach, if it ever decides to stop raining...

Hi, Y'all! It's been a busy week! I will try and do a mega-post sometime tomorrow. I'm hoping to be able to do some writing this afternoon before going out with friends do hear some live music tonight. Detective Scott and I have parted ways. I am totally fine with it because I was feeling him pull away and I don't beg anyone to stay around when they don't want to there. So... moving on! Y'all have a good day and/or evening. I'll be back tomorrow!

Happy Friday, siblings. I'm finally able to hop online and check things out! It's been a crazy several days, getting lots of things done around the house while Hubs was off with me and the monkeys were hanging with the in-laws. Tomorrow, despite the 105 degree heat, we're off to soccer. Prayers for spontaneous evolution of bodily airconditioning are appreciated.

First, I have to say, Congratulations, Daddy Jackson!!! I agree with Marielle that he will make one sexy daddy. Although, I also agree with Lynne that he's only sexiest until Rob and Kris hop on the baby train. I do have to say I was a bit surprised at little Monroe Jackson VI's size; 8lbs 11 oz!!! Good lord!! I mean, Sheila is around Kris' size and Jax isn't much bigger!! High five to her for bringing that big boy into the world!

Lynne~ Yes, I figured they would be. But, as we hadn’t heard for sure, I didn’t want to jump the gun. Of course now we know! I kind of love those little days out. To me, those are always the best ones. I don’t get them often anymore. How was the gardening class? Yes, I absolutely adore Rob in Little Ashes. He’s brilliant in it, as you said. It was one of the films that DC watched when evaluating Rob for the role of Eric Packer. You know my feelings about Rob’s talents where Edward is concerned. I think David Cronenberg said it best. In one of the MANY (infuriating) interviews where he was asked to justify his choice of Rob for the role, he talked about how underappreciated Rob’s turn as Edward will always be specifically for the reason that people do not understand how difficult it is to portray someone who is so controlled, so still, so silent. It’s beyond them because they equate emotion with explosion. If there is no explosion, the person is emotionless and wooden, which we know to be the absolute opposite of true.

Sean~ I’m pleased to hear that things have been going so well at the new job. I suppose physical aches and pains might be a part of the adjustment to something new. Just make sure you take care of yourself.

Tonise~ I suppose the schedule will HAVE to calm down, at least starting next week!

Marielle~ Yes, the mortgage crisis is what started our economic slump, so the housing market has actually been the slowest thing to recover. Nope, at the time, no one from the cast had been confirmed. Of course, now, we know we get the whole fam damily! It’s actually fairly normal for those character tests to vary, especially between school and “mid-adulthood”. Our fundamental character does not change, but the way we view the world and our place in it can. So, some things can change. It’s a weird sensation to see how much though. I read about the God-particle as well and was so amazed! It is truly an awesome discovery and holds many implications. I think we’ll see the fallout from it for many years to come. It doesn’t surprise me that Forbes would make stupid comments like that. I don’t worry because I think Rob understands the difference between the pressures others put on him and the pressures he puts on himself. We understand the reality of his movie choices and that’s truly all I care about. I don’t think he wants to get back into “blockbusters” anytime soon after his experiences with The Saga and Summitt. It just isn’t who he is as an actor. If the right thing comes along, he’ll jump at it. But, he’s happy with films like Cosmopolis and the like. Hope you enjoyed the fanfic corner. It is such a happy place!

Brenda~ Talk about fireworks!! Hmmm, I can see your point about the campfire. I might have a larger issue if they were trying to hide from the Volturi, as Edward&Bella were in Eclipse. But, they aren’t, so there was no specific reason not to have one. Thus, my thought is two-fold. First, as Lynne says, the fire as a light source allows for some cool visuals within the film. Second, it adds a human-ness to the moment. The Cullens and Denalis, at least) have always tried to present the façade of humanity, something which I am sure is easier to do the longer and more steadfastly it is done. Thus, just as they own a full compliment of camping gear they never use or a dining room table which is never used for dining, the campfire would give them a point of gathering, a sense of togetherness. Regarding Ness, if memory serves, she maintains her body temperature similarly to the wolves.

Susan~ I’m salaried/exempt, which means that I get paid a specific amount no matter what and that, if I work over my specific hours, I don’t get extra pay. But, my salary is based upon a certain number of hours per week, thus they can figure out what my “hourly” rate would be and adjust that to ease the pay cut.

Jaclyn~ Have a wonderful time! I’ve been thinking a lot about Scotland of late, between the new Pixare film Brave and Andy Murray making Wimbledon’s final. I always smile when I think, ‘hey, I know people there!’

Not much news of note right now on the Robsten front. Just that it's been horribly hot here and that's how it will be until tomorrow afternoon/evening when the storm front moves though. Why did Mother Nature think it was a good ideal to jack temps up to nearly or over 100 for most of this country, and places in Europe, too? I have a name for her, several in fact, but it's quite unprintable on this forum.

And as I told a friend, where I live, in about 4-5 months, it'll fell like his overload der Fuhrer, People's Premiere/Vozd (Russian equivalent to Fuhrer, official title for Joesph Stalin), overall douchebag Satan turned on the AC in hell. Ohio should only have two seasons, spring and summer, the rest, be BS!

Anyways, I'm gonna try and watch the ALMS and NASCAR races tomorrow, and try and beat the heat for just one more day.

Caryn - yes, when I went to look at the IMDB site on Little Ashes, there was a question from someone in the forum saying that they were unsure of watching it because of the "casting (pattinson)" and that's exactly how they put it. I thought what a narrow minded individual! Even if you don't like a person in one role, it is stupid to assume that means that they can't act in anything. A bad performance can depend on a lot of things, like how they were directed, etc. But to refuse to watch a movie that interests you just because the lead actor was in something you didn't like seems silly to me. Someone on youtube said that if Rob had stuck to roles like Little Ashes then he would have had a career like Johnny Depp now. I wonder if that person knows that Johnny started out in Nightmare on Elm Street and 21 Jump Street! I don't think either of those gigs were known to be weighty roles with great story lines.And I can never understand why people can't see how well he played Edward. Even before I read the books and understood the reason for the stillness I could see so much depth in the character through his eyes. It's sad that people equate such things as yelling with good acting. The best performances are the quiet ones.

Hey everyone!Guess what I just got in the mail… Sempre Forever!! I can’t wait to start reading it. EP was/is my favorite fanfic. I have to finish Cosmopolis first though and let me tell you; that is one tough cookie. Phew. I fear the level of English is just a little too high for me. And the writing style is the most confusing I have ever read. It’s very like… staccato. A bunch of random difficult words thrown together. I can not make sense of it unless I concentrate really hard. It’s definitely not a light read. Anyways…One catch-up post coming up:

Lynne – A, a control freak? What made you think that? (Insert sarcasm here.) It’s just that she demands things and when you say “no”, she goes behind your back and gets what she wants anyway. But I won’t have to deal with her for the next 10 months, so… I’m happy to hear things are moving along with your book. That’s exciting news about the 1500 copies. Actually, no, I haven’t seen Little Ashes. Not sure that I will ever see it either. From what I heard… No, I definitely do not want to see that. I’ll just stick to The Bad Mother’s Handbook if I’m in the mood for an oldie. Have you seen that one? Rob is soooo cute in that, hihi. And I have to agree with you and Caryn about the critics’ and public’s view of acting abilities. Quiet roles are often much more impressive than “loud” ones. I think it’s the same reason Kristen is underappreciated as an actress. It’s all in the eyes for both Rob and Kristen, but people don’t seem to be paying attention to that anymore.

Kayla – Hahaha! What a great first picture! Although I have to admit that Lynne’s was a more appropriate choice. LOL Let me try:Yep, that should do. I don’t know if I’ll use the new feature a lot. I’m too lazy to resize the pictures every time. I’m glad you and all the other sisters made it home safe. I would have loved to meet you. Maybe next time…

Amy - So that’s where my Robsession came from: He looks like Gargamel! Bwahaha. I used to be really into the smurfs, hihi. Honestly, I have no clue what goes on inside A’s head. All she kept saying was that it was her room and her stuff, so she decided who was going to live in it. But did she really think we were going to pick someone who would trash the place?

Marielle – You posted one of those pictures with the “A”-tag; When I first saw those, I thought “Hmmm, very strategically placed…” LOL And uhm…

This happened in Chicago?! Gah! Could you make me any more jealous? Did he do it to all you lucky ladies or was there just one winner of the honor of being undressed by Rob? I didn’t have a chance to see Cosmopolis either. It’s indeed a very limited release over here. But it’s mostly my own fault because I wanted to finish the book first and I just can’t seem to get trough it. I believe I saw something about a DVD release date in the UK for October… That’s great that you’re taking steps towards a new job. I hope you find something good. Keep us updated. Hope you’re enjoying the new MacBook.

Tonise – I love to see your megaposts again! I’m glad HHcon inspired you to work on your fanfic. I hope to start reading it sometime soon, but my to-do/read list is ginormous right now… How was Magic Mike? I just saw the other movie with Channing Tatum, 21 Jump Street. That was really funny! He is an amazing actor, imo. And YUMMY of course. I’m sorry it didn’t work out with Detective Scott. The right guy for you will come along sooner or later.

Brenda – Are you sure it’s the v-neck and button-up shirts in that HumpDay pic? Because I’m -ing more over the lip biting… About the campfire – The more I think about it, the less sense it makes. I don’t think Renesmee needs the warmth. I don’t have the actual quote, but wasn’t there a line in BD about her body being almost as warm as Jacob’s? I am willing to overlook it though as long as it doesn’t seem like the vampires need it for the cold. It’s not like they’re actually afraid of fire. I wonder if they’re going to explain it in the movie though. Probably not.

Sean – Congratulations on your new job!! You must be very happy about that. I’m sorry about the uncomfortable desk situation though. Just make sure you walk around a bit every now and then.

Susie – The roommate situation is under control, thankfully. I haven’t heard anything from my old roommate anymore. The new girl moved in last week and is really nice. We’re all a bit busy at the moment so we scheduled a house-dinner in two weeks to get to know each other a little better. The only thing is that she smokes (cigarettes; no trips across the street… yet. ). She promised to do it outside, because both “B” and I can’t stand the smell, plus “B” has asthma. But yesterday when I came home it really smelled bad in the hallway. So we’ll see how that is going to work out for the next ten months. Hope you had a great fourth of July weekend with your family!

Caryn – Did you mention a do-over of HHcon in November? I love that idea! Although the chances of me making it would again be nonexistent… But if there ever was a time to get together it would be then. I mean it’s the last one! *snif* That doesn’t sound good about the cutbacks at your work. Will you get paid overtime for the 80 ( ) hours you work, or will you only get paid for 30? Because that would suck. (Forgive the expression, but it would.) How was soccer in that heat?

Jaclyn – Have fun on your trip this weekend. I wanted to thank you again for sending me MoBS and CW&IA! I read both of them by now and lost countless hours of sleep because of it. I have to say that Hunterhunting is an excellent writer. Really enjoyed both of her stories. MoBS was really funny and I’ll never look at beavers the same. LOL CW&IA was very… extreme, with all the heavy topics and storylines. But also very moving and touching. I cried several times through that one. And who knew tattooing was that sexy… Thank you!!

Ginnie – I’m so sorry about you grandmother. I hope you and your family are doing alright. Hugs

Ashley – Sounds like you also had a blast at HHcon. I so wish I could have been there. (How many times have I said that in this post by now? ) How was your missions trip?

Susan – Nope, we can’t keep the new roommate and kick A out. It’s her room and her contract with the landlord. We don’t have the rights to kick her out over an argument like that. I’m glad you liked SWATH. It’s turning into quite the blockbuster I believe. It’s still number one in the movie top 10 at the moment. I agree about the last scene; it was a bit of an awkward ending. But I guess they intended it that way with the possibility of a sequel.

All caught up now I think. Hi! to those I missed. And a little gift for those of you who made it to the end.Lovely picture! I’m hoping to be back soon, but I have an exam and a presentation coming up for uni… See you as soon as possible! Bye!

We've got church in a park today. So it will be a nice time of us all just being together and enjoying each other's company. And Little Man goes back to school tomorrow, so this week I might finally get a few things done!

Suzan - Honestly, there are a only a few scenes in Little Ashes where I went "Hmm!" and that's what the forward button is for! The rest of it just showed amazing acting, not just on Rob's part, but on the part of Javier Beltran, who played Frederico Garcia Lorca. It was interesting, too, to learn a little more about Salvador Dali. Classic narcissist, and very, very strange.

Hi, Y'all! Just a quick check-in today to say I'm thinking about everyone! I think I will stay in tonight, fix myself some dinner, and maybe read a little fanfic or watch a movie. I went out last night, and I'm really in the mood to veg-out tonight. I'll be back tomorrow for a Sunday mega-post. Have a great night, Y'all!